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VI Session 25, Seeking the Sun II
Moving from the top of the tower, down, is not a viable option. A cursory glance at the patchwork building suggests a hundred or more floors. The party fly down to the very bottom of the canyon, and find the base of the tower. The air is cold and ice clings to the crevices around them. A massive set of stone double doors is embedded in a heavy hexagonal stone base which flares out as if spreading across the ground. Torches hanging from sconces on either side of the door are lit, suggesting the occupant is nearby. The stone doors part easily to reveal a room with a velvet lined carpet and western style furniture. From somewhere deep in tower, they hear the echoing voices of several men speaking Vashoon. The party retreat back into the canyon to plan their entry. Finellen puts forward the idea of using a new spell she developed and turns the entire party into a thin mist. They float gently through the entryway and through small cracks and crevices before finding themselves at the base of a heavy set door several floors down. Beyond the doors lay bizarre sights, unseen by most of the party, but familiar to Finellen. Large steel tables, with crumbling leather restraints, tubes and vials of ancient liquids and daises with brass fittings which look to control unknowable machines. Finellen's thoughts turn to her time during the war, as a test subject of Findle alchemists. She shakes off the feeling of dread as the party move on. Across a catwalk lay a shimmering portal projected between two hexagonal metal pillars as well as a doorway into a small stone room. The room contains the withered corpse of a dwarven man, clutching a golden amulet around his neck, as well as a 6 ft tall iron humanoid manikin. Looking down from the catwalk, the party sees dozens, maybe hundreds of identical iron manikins in various stages of creation. Each one stamped with the emblem of the Dankil Shogunate, the dwarven military dictatorship who overthrew the ancient Dan emperors. Glashael briefly mentions some rumours about the old Shogunate using "metal men" as enforcers when their numbers were spread thin, but doesn't know many details. The party detect magic on the amulet and fiddle with it for a moment, but are unable to determine its use. Through the shimmering portal, the party can see very little. The image is dark and obscured by the liquid-like surface. Dark forms flit and swoop across its surface. Finellen conjures several large ape-like animals and sends one through the portal. It's form fades into obscurity and vanishes as a dark figure streaks across the portal. The party decide to make a hidden camp nearby, fearing discovery by the Vashar and not confident with their chances using the portal. Rest is difficult for the party. Every tiny sound that echos through the cavernous ruins sends waves of panic through them. Only an hour into their rest Irome notices a gentle airflow near one wall. Moving aside rubble and ancient crates, the party discovers a hidden door, almost masterfully disguised as a stone wall. Hauri does his best to try and force the door open, but it appears as it if was purposefully set. With no other way to go down, the party make use of Finellen's mist form magic one again to transport themselves through the crack in the wall. Outside they find themselves on a narrow stone bridge. Air is moving around them giving the impression that this is outside, but they see nothing but black in all directions, despite Kimchiwei's claims that it was midmorning. Glashael says that they must be underground, but did not know that there were caverns like this in Danasia. A sudden tumble of rocks sets the party on edge. Something is nearby. A buffet of wind knocks Glashael and Finellen to the floor and claws slam into Hauri. A great winged serpent, jet black in colour lifts Hauri off of the bridge. Two more swoop down and swing great barbed tales at Irome and Kimchiwei, stabbing Kim in the side. He immediately falls to his knees, overwhelmed by the wyvern's poison. Finnellen raises her hands and calling on her connection to the spirits of the cavern, she summons dozens of man sized bats to swarm and overwhelm their enemies. Hauri manages to wrench himself free from the beast's claws and nearly falls into the abyss below, were it not for a timely catch from one of the bats. The party flee across the bridge, leaving the bats to distract the hungry wyverns. They find a small cavern, glowing with blue fungus and recover from the attack. EXP and Journal